Let’s Play with World History!

All kids who are learning world history for the first time are invited!

Let’s Play with World History! a history book for children learning world history for the first time, has been published. An inquisitive child, the protagonist, and a librarian with a wealth of knowledge learn about the history of the world in the process of pointing at maps and sharing questions and answers. Consisting not of a dry exposition but of an intriguing tale, this volume unfolds the diverse histories, religions, and cultures of Africa, Asia, Europe, Americas, and Oceania. It uniquely guides youngsters to have an open worldview by going beyond a narrative that centers on Western history and heroes and describing in simple language the everyday lives of people who have lived on a variety of continents on Earth. In addition, in keeping with the subtitle “A New Story of History Found on Maps,” the picture maps and historical photographs that appear appropriately as each page is turned will aid children to understand world history with greater ease. This book is the volume on history in the Changbi Books for Learning about Society Series.

A book that can be read with ease and interest by children learning world history for the first time

For youngsters learning world history for the first time and their parents alike, the immense quantity of global history will be the greatest burden. To alleviate such concerns, Let’s Play with World History! consists of one fun tale so that readers will not be overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge. Living on an island from which the sea can be seen, the young protagonist is fascinated by the histories, geography, religions, and cultures of other words while looking at the big old world map on the kitchen wall and learns about the stories of far-off lands through free-style lessons with the librarian.

Turning the spotlight on diverse peoples around the world!

Transcending a worldview focusing on the West or powerful individuals and groups, Let’s Play with World History! endeavors to address the histories of various peoples across the globe. Divided into five parts in accordance with the number of continents, the book guides readers to the history of the human race, starting with Africa and progressing to Asia, Europe, Americas, and Oceania, in this order. This is none other than the sequence in which humans settled down on each continent of Earth. In the process, the volume comprehensively teaches readers even about regions not often dealt with in other history books such as India and Antarctica.

While following this progression, readers will naturally come to pay attention to the histories not only of large, powerful nations but also of the diverse peoples who have lived around the world. Examining the history of groups including the paraiyars (pariahs), the lowest caste in India who are not allowed even to drink from village wells, and Native Americans/First Nations, who were bereft of nearly all of their land by white people over a century, this volume warmly embraces those who were all too often excluded from existing historical narratives. Let’s Play with World History! will thus help youngsters to see the world from a broad perspective as they acquire increasingly complex and difficult knowledge in the growth process.

Friendly maps that combine natural geography and human geography

Noteworthy in Let’s Play with World History! are over 30 maps, which have been painstakingly drawn by hand. Unlike atlases used at South Korean schools, which try to cram as much information as possible on maps, these maps are unique in naturally arranging information so that they can be appreciated like paintings, thus enabling youngsters to understand the information from the main text more easily on the maps.

Each section presents maps that allow readers to grasp at a glance the natural terrain of each continent such as mountain ranges, each continent such as mountain ranges, plateaus, rivers, seas, forests, and deserts and that present national borders and country names. In addition, places associated with historically important events or culturally noteworthy remains are presented separately through small maps and photographs, thus enhancing readers’ visual understanding. Thus encompassing on maps information on both natural geography and human geography, Let’s Play with World History! is expected to be established as a volume suited to children who learn the history of the world for the first time.